A Forex Intermediary is a financial services provider that facilitates foreign exchange transactions on behalf of individuals and businesses. Forex Intermediaries conduct currency exchanges through the banks and utilise the large volumes of monthly trades to negotiate favourable exchange rates.
While both Forex Intermediaries and banks provide foreign exchange services, intermediaries typically offer better exchange rates, lower fees, and faster processing times. Additionally, Forex Intermediaries provide more personalized service and tailored forex solutions for individuals and businesses.
Yes, ForexPeople is fully compliant and regulated by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), and the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC). Additionally, ForexPeople is a signatory of the Global FX Code and a founding partner of the South African Association of Treasury Advisors (SAATA).
Please Note: Should you not be happy with the current exchange rate, an individual has 30 days to convert funds once cleared before the payment is returned to the original sender.
There are no fees to open an account, and there are no monthly maintenance/service fees.
Yes. Interest rates vary depending on our banking partners:
Account Type | Capitec | Investec |
ZAR Account | 6.25% | 6.35% |
USD Account | 0% | 2.50% |
ForexPeople charges a small margin on the exchange rate quoted to you. We maintain transparency and provide a deal confirmation letter after every transaction, detailing the exact margin applied. A bank charge (Swift Fee) is also charged on each transaction, this is either R250.00 or R500.00 depending on if you choose to share bank charges or pay all the bank charges.
ForexPeople is exploring relationships with multiple banks to offer more options to our clients and is currently partnered with both Investec and Capitec Bank.
Exchange rates are influenced by several factors, including:
There are various forex deal types depending on whether you are buying or selling currency:
For buying foreign currency:
Deal Type | Value Date (Processing Date) | Funding Requirement | Explanation |
Spot | 2 days after booking date | 2:00 pm the day before value date | The most common transaction type, allowing time for funding and processing. |
Tom | 1 day after booking date | Pre-funded before booking | Used for urgent payments requiring immediate processing. |
Forward | Specific chosen date in the future | 10% margin pre-funded before booking | Helps reduce currency fluctuation risks for scheduled future payments. (e.g 30, 60 or 90 day payment terms) |
For selling foreign currency (funds must have cleared in your account):
Deal Type | Value Date (Processing Date) | Booking Requirement |
Same-Day | Same day | Only available for deals booked before 11:00 am. |
Tom | 1 day after booking | For deals booked after 11:00 am. |
Note: Rand will reflect in your chosen local account on value date.
From the value date (the day the payment is processed), funds typically reflect in the beneficiary’s account on the same day or within 2 days, depending on country time differentials and the routing through correspondent and beneficiary banks.
Yes. South African individuals have an annual limit of R1 million under the Single Discretionary Allowance (SDA). If you need to send more, you can apply for SARS approval under the Foreign Investment Allowance (FIA) for an additional R10 million, bringing the total to R11 million.
The Single Discretionary Allowance (SDA) is the maximum amount South African individuals can send abroad in a calendar year without SARS approval, capped at R1 million. This includes any foreign currency credit card purchases made internationally and or online.
The Foreign Investment Allowance (FIA) allows South African individuals to transfer funds beyond their SDA limit, up to R10 million per year, provided they obtain SARS AIT approval.
*AIT = Approved International Transfer
To transfer funds internationally, you must open a forex settlement (trade) account with an Intermediary or a Bank. Once opened, you can request a rate and book a deal with your representative. We handle the account opening and onboarding for all our new clients.
Using a Forex Intermediary like ForexPeople is typically cheaper than using a bank, as banks often apply higher exchange rate margins and additional fees.
To transfer inheritance abroad, you may need additional supporting documents, such as but not limited to:
ForexPeople can assist with the required documentation and regulatory approvals.
Making trust transfers abroad, whether for trust distributions, the sale of shares, or foreign loans, can be complex and often requires various documents depending on the purpose of the transfer.
ForexPeople has extensive experience in handling trust transactions and can assist you with the necessary processes and documentation.
An FCA (Foreign Currency Account) is an account for individuals in South Africa that allows you to hold foreign currency locally. Unlike other accounts, there’s no requirement to convert the funds into South African Rand in the future. This type of account is strictly for investment purposes.
Businesses can mitigate exchange rate risks by using:
A Forward Exchange Contract (FEC) allows businesses to lock in an exchange rate for a future date, protecting them from currency fluctuations. It is particularly useful for companies that make regular international payments, such as supplier payments.
Types of forward exchange contracts:
Fixed Forward – The exchange rate is locked in, and settlement must happen on one specific future value date. No flexibility.
Partially Optional Forward – You select a start and end date in the future, and settlement can happen anytime within that range. Some flexibility.
Fully Optional Forward – Can be settled anytime between the booking date and the chosen future value date. Maximum flexibility.
All forward contracts do require a 10% margin to be prefunded in order to book, additionally, the full balance must be funded into your forex trade account at 14:00 the day before value date.
Certain transactions require prior approval from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), including:
Exchange Control refers to the regulations set by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) that govern the flow of money in and out of the country. A banks exchange control ensures that all foreign exchange transactions comply with these rules.
Yes, ForexPeople specializes in assisting import/export businesses with international payments. Due to South Africa’s greylisting, payment requirements have become increasingly stringent as SARB works towards compliance. Our expertise ensures that your transactions meet all necessary regulations and requirements to make sure your payments are processed without delay.
Fluctuating exchange rates can affect profit margins, cost calculations, and financial planning. A weaker ZAR can increase import costs, while a weaker ZAR benefits exporters. Businesses can manage this risk using forward contracts and hedging solutions.
Typically, businesses need to provide:
An advanced payment is when you pay for the goods that you are importing before they are shipped.
For payments under R50,000.00 in value, only a pro-forma invoice is required.
For payments above R50,000.00 in value, we will require an APN number to be generated and the pro-forma invoice.
An APN (Advance Payment Notification) is a unique number generated that is needed when making an advanced payment over R50,000.00 in value. This will need to be set up on your companies SARS efiling profile if it has not already been set up.
Generating an APN number requires you to input the details of the payment and the final value of the goods being shipped. The final value should not include freight or bank fee charges.
A UCR number, or Unique Consignment Reference, is a unique identifier for international shipments. It’s used for customs clearance, tracking, and other purposes.
This is a standard combination of the year, country code, client customs number (CCN) and invoice number.
Format example: 25-ZA-12345678-INV001
A CCN (client customs number) is a unique code assigned to a company when they register with SARS to import or export goods. This number essentially acts as an identification number for customs clearance purposes and should be provided to shipping agents to be used on shipping documents.
A CFC (Customer Foreign Currency) account is a currency account specifically for companies, and it’s beneficial for both importers and exporters.
That’s why we provide total transparency and service excellence in all we do.
